It has begun. Harvest. In our area we don't have anyone who chops silage, so all the activity waits until the corn is ready, and then...BAM! "No, we can't, we're in the field" is what you hear whenever you ask a question of anyone. You see combines going up and down, up and down the rows of brown corn, throwing dust everywhere as they go. Sometimes, especially just north in Iowa, you see teams of combines in off-set rows mowing through the fields. Even the MODOT signs along the roads warn us to be aware of farm vehicles. And then there are the trucks, delivering the corn to the elevators, going back and forth and back and forth. Almost all focus in the county is on harvest.

I wonder what would happen in the church if we focused on anything with that kind of intensity? Whether it's evangelism, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, caring for children when school is not in session, growing people's discipleship, creating lay scholars, or whatever is the focus for your one congregation. For harvest folks spend a month or so getting their equipment ready and hiring workers. In the church we could spend a month enlisting and training volunteers, and then...the excitement begins. Maybe your focus is one that can be done in a month, or three months, or maybe it is ongoing so that you are constantly enlisting and training new volunteers. But it's that singularity of focus and purpose that I think we need to explore. We can't be all things to all people, just like the folks around me don't raise corn, beans, cotton, rice, potatoes, onions, tomatoes...they focus on one or two crops and throw their all into it from planting to harvest, and in between. What is your focus, and how does it change the lives of those around you?

Oh, God, there are so many needs all around us that it becomes overwhelming. We cannot do all there is to do, so we become paralyzed by the need and often do nothing. Help us to find one or two issues that can be our focus, and then help us to do them very, very well. With the guiding of your Spirit we know we can do anything, even if we cannot do everything, so send your Spirit to prompt us and challenge us in ways we can affect the lives of those around us. We know that with your leading and guiding we can truly be your disciples and ease the burdens of your people wherever we live.......Amen.